Short and Sweet
by KJL
Summary: Dasey one shot challenge! My own cute little dribbly fluff on Dasey... maybe more. Who really knows? Enjoy!
1. Bad Dream

**A/N: I've always been fascinated with one-shot challenges, so I decided to finally do one, even if it is an old one! Prompt at the bottom, from xXxThePhantom'sRosexXx. I know I have other stories, so I really shouldn't be working on this until I actually update my CSI Miami story, but I'm totally dying from writer's block with that one! So, here we go!**

**#1: Bad Dream**

Casey woke up with a start, scared out of her mind. Her dream disappeared before she could even begin to remember it. She lay there, disappointed. Then, with a flash of clarity, she remembered. It was the same dream she always had. George and Nora had been in a car crash, leaving Derek, Lizzie, Marti, Edwin and her to fend for themselves, or be taken away into different homes by social workers. Casey couldn't help it; she started crying. She knew the dream wasn't true, but call it overemotional; even just the thought scared her to tears.

She tried to cry quietly, but she guessed it hadn't been quietly enough; within the next few minutes, Derek opened the door and stepped softly into her bedroom. "Case?" He stood next to the bed for a few seconds before ordering her, "Scoot over." He pulled himself under her pink silk comforter. "Were you crying, or am I imagining things," he whispered questioningly. Casey pulled herself closer to him, then responded, "You're not imagining things."

"What's wrong?" He wrapped his arms around her, knowing she needed the closeness... something he seemed to be the only one to provide.

"Dream." She whispered sleepily, sighing. She was warm and content in his arms, a left-over feeling from back when they'd dated.

"Again? The same one?" He hated keeping her awake, when she was so happy with him, but he had to make sure she was okay. She nodded against his chest. He sighed. "Oh, baby..." He almost stopped himself, almost reminded himself that she'd decided he wasn't right for her and left him, almost left her there, but his damn heartstrings were still tied to her. So he pulled her until she was smack against his chest, his head touching her hair, and let her fall asleep in his arms.

Just because he was too keyed up to do anything but breathe around her, that didn't mean he had to ruin her good night's sleep.

* * *

When Casey woke up the next morning, she saw a note on her pillow. She shivered; being without Derek always made her feel cold. She couldn't remember why she'd broken it off with him, but she had too much pride to beg.

_Casey:_

_Sorry I left early. _

_I still love you. Just remember that._

_Love, D_

Or did she? Suddenly, begging sounded like a pretty good option.

* * *

**Here's the prompt!  
**

#1: Bad Dream  
#2: Finger Paints  
#3: Swingset  
#4: Laughter Is The Best Medicine  
#5: Movie Night  
#6: Charm Bracelet  
#7: Tears  
#8: Dance  
#9: Shopping  
#10: Ice Cream

Ok, here's how it works: You have to write ten one-shots, each one-shot has  
to revolve around an item on the list. For example, one-shot 1 would have to  
revolve around the 1st item on the list and so on. It doesn't have to be  
DASEY. I do perfer Derek being a good brother, family type stuff. They can be  
set in the future or in present time. They can revolve around Derek and Casey  
or any of the characters on the show. Anyways, let's try it! Oh, they don't  
have to relate in any way. So...let's have some fun with this!


	2. Finger Paints

A/N: Is there a punishment for not getting updates down quickly? If so, I feel like I'm going to hell. Lol I'm sorry guys! I've gotten so fricking busy.... Bahhh. Dasey again! I need some fluff to get me through the days.

One Shot #2: Finger Paints

"Mommy?" Eloise questioned from her booster seat in the back of the car, suitcases packed in around her. "Can I play with my finger paints?"

"Not in the car, sweetie. You know that. That's messy," Casey said distractedly, turning on her signal to change lanes. "We'll play next rest stop Mommy sees."

Eloise was quiet, having an inner connection with her mom, knowing she wasn't happy and not wanting to make anything worse. She continued coloring with her colored pencils, instinctively hating crayons just like her mom.

Casey looked like hell and she knew it. After Max had hit her, she'd run. She knew about Derek being Eloise's real father. She knew Max knew. She knew Derek probably knew. But what she didn't know was how Derek would react to being told she needed him to become a caretaker... and possibly take her back.

She drove another few hours, stopping at all the rest stops like she'd promised, until she finally came upon Derek's nice new shiny townhouse. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she finally pulled into his shared driveway, taking a moment to breathe and admire. The townhouse was part of his development. He'd made a ton of money off it, and decided to live in one himself. She lay back against the seat. She couldn't breathe until Derek made his decisions. She might as well get in there and find out.

She grabbed Eloise and rang the doorbell. Derek answered, looking clean-shaven, bright eyed, and much better than Casey knew she herself had looked in weeks. He was wearing a long sleeved brown corduroy shirt over a black tank, with jeans.... Casey's favorite outfit for him. It was a good omen, she decided.

"Case?" Derek looked shocked, and she couldn't blame him. He saw the look in her eyes and told Eloise, "Hey, sweetie, how's my favorite princess? I've got new paints in the play room if you want to go use them... just make sure you don't get any on that pretty shirt."

Eloise nodded and bounced away while Derek shut the door and led Casey inside, steering her towards the couch. "So," he said acceptingly. "Any particular reason you've showed up at my doorstep with no notice with the kid, looking like you've been scared out of your mind?"

"Hit it on the nail," said Casey with a horrible mockery of a smile. She took a deep breath and tried to explain, "Derek... you know about Eloise. And Max...."

"He found out?" Derek looked up at her anxiously, searching her face for signs of abuse. He'd known about Max since they'd decided to marry. This situation was looking more and more like a place he didn't want to be in... but he couldn't leave Casey in the lurch. He took Casey by the shoulders unthinkingly, then realized his mistake when she winced and scurried away. He ordered in a low voice laced with empathy, "Show me, Case."

She shook her head, her eyes welling up. He stared her down until she gave in, took off her coat, and shoved up her sleeve to show him the gigantic purple bruise covering most of her arm, and, he noticed, spreading into the area of her collarbone, going partially up her neck. Man, he thought, when the guy decided to hurt her, he did it but good.

"Case..." Derek turned away. Did he somehow know that when he hurt her, he was hurting Derek too? Was this all some Neanderthal plot to get even with him, by hurting the one thing he loved most?

"D...." was all Casey could say before she broke down. She knew she was safe here, she wouldn't be violated by trusting the person whose arms she was currently in, and Eloise was in the back room, safe and sound.

Derek just let her cry into his chest, wanting so badly to hug her and crush her against him, but knowing that would hurt even worse.

When she was at last able to look up, she looked into his eyes, needing to see his reaction.

Derek refused to disappoint. "So, you'll obviously need some change of address labels. Did you get everything out?"

Casey tried to smile through her tears. She nodded. At least she'd had the forethought to know she wouldn't be coming back.

"Well, then, Eloise has a room here, we already know that, you can sleep with me again, like you should've been all along... and there we go."

Casey looked at him, biting her lip. Did dreams really come true like this? To find out, she kissed him gently, trying to convey her feelings without hurting herself.

He responded likewise, keeping her at a safe distance. They would've continued, except that Eloise had come in. She saw what was happening and cleared her throat, just like Casey would've as a kid. The fact wasn't lost on Derek.

"Yes, sweetie?" Casey pulled her coat back on, not wanting Eloise to see the bruises.

"Uhm... I forgot." Eloise blinked, kind of shocked.

"We're going to have our work cut out for us... telling Eloise you're really her dad, and that she'll be moving.... this is more complicated than I'd like it to be, you know that?"

"We'll get through it. No worries."

Casey smiled. For Derek, that was about as good as it got.


	3. Swing Set

**A/N: I just got back from the Buffalo Catholic Youth convention.... best weekend of my life. I made so many friends and got to know my older ones so much better. I also got six hours of sleep total this weekend... ouch. I am, however, going to try to update SOMETHING, so my one shot that doesn't require too much planning seems to be the best course of action. I love you guys.... and for an opinion question to answer in reviews, how many of you have ever thought about actually going into the priesthood or a convent, or even just being a director of a Christian program?**

**Chapter 3: Swing set**

"Aliena, will you get OFF that swing set and come put your shoes on?" Casey ordered desperately. "We're going to be late to see Daddy!"

"Mommy..." Aliena, having learned at the tender age of 4 that reasoning with Mommy got more results than arguing or crying, tried to explain. "I don't wanna get off. I feel like I'm flying. And Daddy's always waited for us before." Aliena looked up at her mother with her big, chocolate brown eyes.

"I know, honey, but Mommy really wants to get there early tonight. Daddy and I are going out to dinner tonight... with a very special friend of ours," Casey finished absentmindedly, her mind in a dream. Aliena quietly came in, closing the door and finding her sandals, dying from suspense, but not knowing how to say it, so she didn't.

When Aliena was ready, Casey loaded her in the car seat, got in the driver's side, put on her seatbelt, and started the car. She looked back, checked to make sure Ali was okay and she was, with her crayons and music around her, already ignoring Mommy in favor of her new pictures.

It took around ten minutes for Casey to drive to the restaurant, five minutes to put Aliena's stuff all together, and a couple of minutes to get inside from the parking lot. When they reached the door, Casey picked the little girl up, covered her eyes, and walked in, quickly spotting Derek and Sam already at the table chatting. She waved, put her finger to her lips, indicated Ali, and walked over. She set Aliena down, not taking her hand off her eyes. She grabbed out the chair for Ali, sat her in it, and sat down herself, finally removing her hand from her daughter's eyes. When she did, Aliena gasped. "Uncle Derek! You're back!" She jumped out of her chair and ran over to hug the man with the broad shoulders and fuzzy brown hair that always stuck up in weird places. He caught her and whirled her around, then pulled her back close to him. "How's my Ali-oop doing? Driving Mommy crazy like I asked?" He sat his little elf on his lap, then looked to Casey for the answer.

"No, she's been an angel," Casey said, not really being sarcastic. Only slightly. Aliena was a quiet little kid most of the time, trying to teach herself to read books or drawing. The only flaw in this happy little set-up Casey had was that the kid CONSTANTLY asked when Uncle Derek would be back, and Casey never knew. She missed him too, and the kid never helped ease her loneliness. Sam was always gone on business, and she and Ali were often home alone for weeks at a time.

* * *

Much later, after dinner and while Sam was putting Aliena to bed, Derek walked into the kitchen. "So, Case, how's home life going?" They both stood at the counter, just watching each other without saying much.

"Lonely. But otherwise, Aliena's amazing, and I love this new house. We're trying, it's just... not quite all coming together." Casey looked disappointed, then looked down at the ground.

Derek gave her a hug, then decided to go for shock value with his next statement. "You wouldn't want a house guest for... some indefinite amount of time, would you?"

Casey replied by jumping in his arms and smiling.

**A/N: It may not be my best, but I'm not exactly in my right mind. I love this little idea though. It's very cute. Love you guys!**


	4. Laughter is the Best Medicine

**A/N: I should work on Falling AND His Kind Of Money, but I'm like.... bahhh. You know? It's like writer's block is TRYING to catch me all the time. So yeah I had this weird little idea, and then I looked at my prompt list, and numero 4 was Laughter Is The Best Medicine, and I was like, that totally fits with my fantasy! Scoreee. Haha I really do say score in my mind, is the REAL sad part. Plus, I think I found my soul mate last night. He's eight years older than me and one of my brother's friends... but whatev. So I'm done taking up my word count with this freakishly long intro! Love you guys!**

**Chapter IV: L.I.T.B.M.**

Casey knew Derek was crazy. What she didn't know was that crazy could end up with her in the hospital, having a fish hook removed from her leg, with only Derek around for comfort.

Although, she had to admit, the kid wasn't doing too bad a job at the 'comfort' bit. When he wasn't apologizing profusely and repeatedly, which was getting a little old by now, he was trying to crack jokes in spite of his worry. And he was doing a good job! It still hurt like hell, but she was dealing, hanging onto Derek's arm, sitting on her hospital bed, waiting for the surgeon to actually come in and get it out.

"Okay.... have you heard the one about the blonde going to Heaven?" Blonde jokes were Derek's specialty, and at this point he wasn't necessarily choosing which jokes he told. He was just telling them as he thought of them. His eyes furrowed in worry every time Casey cringed. It was all his fault...

_"Hey, Space Case! Ever tried fishing?" _

_"Not a chance. Can you imagine ME, like, bludgeoning a fish to death after making him eat a sharp piece of metal? That's awful!"_

_Derek shook his head. "Wow, Casey. That's totally not how I fish."_

_Casey's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Okay, then tell me your version."_

_"We have bobbers. Which makes the hook easier to see," he explained, seeing her open her mouth. "And, also, when you catch the fish, you throw it back. We don't really catch them unless they're really big."_

_Casey screwed up her mouth and thought. "Okay. I'll try it. But if I don't like it, I quit."_

_Derek smiled. "Deal, Head Case."_

And now he was sitting here next to her bed, holding onto her arm, cracking jokes out of pure anxiety and an effort to make her feel better, and all he really felt was nervousness and shame for making her do this. If he'd let her go back to reading or whatever she was doing before he'd convinced her.... he stopped that thought. No point, right?

"So...." Casey paused, looking at him. "What's the joke? I said I haven't heard this one."

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" He had to regain his train of thought. "Alright. So there's a blonde..."

"And a redhead and a brunette, right." Casey finished his sentence. He pretended to scowl at her, and she made a motion like she was zipping her lips. "Go on."

"And there are 99 steps to get to Heaven. But there's a catch; God's going to tell you a joke for each step, and if you laugh, you have to start back over. The brunette volunteers to start. She gets to joke 12 and laughs. The redhead goes next, and gets to step 58 before laughing. The blonde goes last and she gets to the top step without laughing. Afterwards, God asks her, 'how did you manage not to laugh?' The blonde goes, 'wait.... oh my Gosh, that's funny!' God asks her what, she says, 'that one about the elephant! It was hilarious!' God says, 'that was the first joke...'"

Casey laughed, temporarily forgetting about the hook in her leg. "Anything else?"

"Oh, man, we're going through my entire arsenal of blonde jokes. I do have one more though."

"Fire away." Derek laughed. Casey turned towards him. "What?"

"You'll see when the joke's over." He smiled, then launched into his story. "Okay, so there's two brunettes and a blonde this time. They're all waiting for execution. The first brunette gets into position for the firing squad, and they ask her if she has any last words. She says, 'no, no, I'm ready,' and then as they go to give the command, she goes 'HURRICANE!' and gets away in the aftermath and chaos. The second brunette gets into position, they ask her the same thing, and she says, 'no, I'm good,' then says 'TORNADO!' and in the aftermath gets away. Well, the blonde's been watching and she thinks she has a handle on this idea. They ask her the same thing, she goes 'no, no,' and then she screams 'FIRE!' And, well, you can figure out the rest."

Casey actually looked at him for a second before getting it. When she did, she laughed hysterically. "That's good. Are you sure you're out?"

"Uhmm... for a second. Let me think, I'll remember more!"

"No need," Casey replied, watching the very tall surgeon walk in.

"So, Miss McDonald, fishing too dangerous a sport for you?" Casey looked at the man in disgust. This wasn't her regular doctor and she didn't appreciate his unprofessional behavior. She was about to say something when Derek beat her to the punch.

"Excuse me," he said, his face dark. "I don't think that's necessary. That's insulting, and neither I nor my... my girlfriend doesn't want to hear it either," he finished.

Casey looked at him, smiled, and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see a fight, or see a hook being taken out of her calf muscle. So, she took a preemptive strike and squeezed Derek's hand, keeping him next to her.


	5. Movie Night

**A/N: Okay, so yeah, def going to hell for not updating. But in my defense, my friend died last month, and school's been crazy, I've been dealing with my best friend rejecting me, and I've been getting sick constantly lately. So yeah, please, forget and forgive or whatever.

* * *

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Chappie 5! Movie Night :D

Derek had a secret. He'd kept it hidden till he was 16, when Casey MacDonald had moved in and found out, but after he'd threatened to break her expensive dolls and tell her mom _exactly _what she'd done with Truman, she'd sworn to keep it a secret.

It sounded like it was the worst thing in the world, right? Like he was slowly dying of something, or selling pot. But the secret wasn't really big at all, at least not in anyone else's mind. But to Derek Venturi? Being scared of thunderstorms was top-secret information that could ruin his reputation.

Because Derek Venturi was never, never scared of anything. Derek was invincible. Better than superman; he had no weaknesses. So the fact that Casey knew he was afraid of thunderstorms? It was something to struggle with for a long time.

Eventually, he'd learned to accept the fact that Casey could keep a secret, and though she brought it up occasionally, it was only in private.

What Derek didn't understand was how his family didn't know, now that they'd started planning a movie night every time there was even a rumor for a thunderstorm.

Tonight, although it hadn't started yet, there was an 85% chance of one, so Derek popped in 'Spirited Away' and sat there, cuddling with his step-sister, munching on popcorn. In the dark, 1 am, with everyone else in bed. Lights off, under a pink blanket, with his arms around her.

Casey couldn't say she didn't enjoy their nights together. They'd never done anything that could remotely be considered bad though. Okay, maybe occasionally they kissed each other on the nose. But that was all, honest. It was brother-sister affection. That's all.

She loved him. But she would never think of it that way. It was like incest, right? Yeah.... her thoughts made her face contort, making Derek look up at her and smile, waving his hand in front of her to jar her back into reality.

She smiled back, hugging him more tightly around the waist. And the rumbles started. He buried his face in her shoulder, and she held onto him, knowing this little arrangement would end as soon as the thunderstorm did. She needed every second of it.

* * *

**A/N2: Well, I tried to make it good. I know it's way short, but hey. I gotta ease myself back into writing. I'm not doing so well with the whole making words go together well thing over the last month. It's a bumpy ride.**


	6. Charm Bracelet

**A/N: I'm doing another chapter! Within a week of the last one! I'm so excited! I haven't done this in forever! Okay, so maybe I'm a little over excited... but the fact that I can get excited about anything is making me really happy. Good feelings, good feelings.

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Chapter 6!!

Charm Bracelet 3

She hated him. She hated him with every fiber of her being, her soul, her... everything.

Oh, sure, he may have been a callous pig and a jealousy-inducing babe magnet, but that wasn't why Casey hated him.

She hated him because he made her love him.

She hated the way he'd dated her for _a year and a half_, dammit. Then decided he had bigger dreams. Playing hockey. In the States. And he'd left her there, clutching the bracelet he gave her, her internal organs silently ripping themselves apart.

She hated the way he made her mood swings happen more frequently. But they were different now. They were the type of moods where she walked, slowly, continuously, in the middle of the hallway for hours in the night. Straight down the middle. She wouldn't let herself touch anything. If she even so much as touched the wall, it felt like she was burning alive.

Then there was her other type of mood, and this only happened after she gave in and touched something, hugged someone, ate something.

She hated the way he made her fall against the wall, wrap her arms around herself, and rock silently. Because she wouldn't cry. Casey MacDonald did NOT cry over the boy who tore her heart apart. She cried over those other boys, yes. But she'd been younger then. Less mature. Less self-assured.

Wait a minute. Who was she really kidding? She'd never been more insecure in her life. Her apartment felt like a mausoleum, so her family and friends stopped coming to visit. They eventually stopped calling, too, when she never answered her messages. She never even looked at her phone anymore. In fact... Casey thought hard for a moment. She didn't even know where the damn thing was.

But so what. It's not like the person she wanted to call would ever call her anyways. He was out playing goalie for the Buffalo Sabres. Too busy living it up in a penthouse pad, probably.

She didn't keep contact with anyone. She didn't eat. She didn't sleep. She wasn't sure why she was still breathing. Shouldn't people die after ten days of not eating?

But death would be merciful, and clearly, she didn't deserve mercy.

She wished he would call.

She didn't know that **RIGHT NOW**, he was calling her frantically, his family finally convincing him of the direness of this situation.

He tried to think of her address, but she'd left the old house after he'd gone to New York, so...

She sat. Waited. Lived, by the barest definition of the word.

She wished on the wishing stars, waiting for the shooting ones, listened to their old songs on the radio, and looked at the damn charm bracelet.

She hadn't really examined it for a while. Maybe now was a good time. She had nothing else to do, right?

She started at the beginning. A little gold 'C', for her name. That's what had been on it when she'd first gotten it from him for her birthday. It was even before they'd started dating.

She moved two links, looked at the little pink crown. She smiled, sniffed, and checked her eyes to make sure there were no tears. He'd always called her his princess. It was the pet name, when he was kissing her on the nose, in between kisses when they were making out at night, and hell, sometimes he even screamed it during sex. They were nothing close to perfect. But god, it had felt so right to be called that.

Another two links, a little black and silver microphone. Was it... oh yeah! It was because she'd sang with the band. "You said it was over, but it was not over..." Oh, Derek. She shocked herself. She'd said his name. She promised to never say his name. The spell was broken, and she cried.

She regained control of herself, and looked at the next one. The last one. A little silhouette of a ballerina in position. She'd loved it, because it was lime green. Not black, white, light pink, silver... lime green. It was so unexpected... just like her, he'd said. Also, he'd liked it, because ballerinas were flexible. And she was very flexible. She admitted it. She bet none of his other little sex-buddies were as adaptable as she was.

Her door opened. She looked up. It was him. Nah, couldn't be. She was dreaming. She always dreamed. Just of him. Nothing else... ever.

"Casey?" The dream stared at her, in shock. This couldn't be his Casey. Her hair was wrinkled, dirty, her clothes rumpled and slept in... she'd lost weight. Her eyes looked even bigger in her face now.

"Hmm.... I didn't know I fell asleep." She got up, watching her dream, knowing that if she touched him, he'd disappear.

"Case?" He looked at her in concern, touching her cheek slowly. "I'm not a dream."

"No, that's true... you're a nightmare. Because you're going to leave me as soon as I touch you.... so I'm not going to touch you."

"Casey, you're not asleep!"

"Did I finally die then?" She tilted her head askance. "I thought I would know when I died... I thought it would hurt. But maybe I finally stopped eating long enough..." She smiled. "Are you going to stay with me then? Are we both in Hell?"

"Casey!" He shook her. "You're not asleep, you're not dead! I drove for two damn hours, trying to call you, find you, remember where the hell you lived because Nora and George have been worried out of their _fucking MINDS_ about you, because you've been sitting around catatonic and not returning their calls for **WEEKS** now...."

"I am not catatonic!" She scowled at the vision. She didn't take kindly to her visions yelling at her.

Derek sighed, almost crying from frustration. She'd lost her mind. It was pretty obvious. He had to think of the one thing able to make her always sane... he closed his eyes. What was the one thing?

Ahh, yes. He remembered now. He stepped towards her carefully. "Case, I'm going to touch you. And I promise you I'll still be here afterward." She nodded at him.

And he put his arms around her waist, still watching her carefully. She tilted her head again, waiting for his next move.

And so, he started tickling her back. She laughed involuntarily. And he saw that sparkle in her eyes, and he knew, it wasn't all lost.

So, he risked one more step. He put his lips near hers. Caught her intake of breath. Looked at her, waited for her nod.

And he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, because, hell, if he was going to leave right after this, she was gonna enjoy it now.

He pulled away with reluctance, holding her still. "See? Still here. Really here. Not leaving again."

"What about hockey?" The question caught him out of the blue. She did think of the most random things when he was baring his soul.

"You're coming with me. I think we've figured out letting you live alone is a very bad idea."

She looked around at her apartment. Her once-cozy, slightly small, gray, dingy, dismal apartment. And realized traveling around in a bus couldn't be any worse than trying to live without her dream again.

"You're really not leaving me again? You promise?" She looked up at him, with big dark eyes, flashing with tears.

He nodded. "I promise. I love you, Casey MacDonald. And I can't live without you anymore."

She let go. She cried. She let herself lean against his shoulder and cry like a baby, let him stroke her hair.

He grabbed her hand when she was done, making her charms knock against each other. He looked at her wrist. "You know, we gotta get more charms for this thing." She smiled.

"Now go shower, and I'll make dinner."

"Uhmm.... that might be a problem." Logical thinking Casey had taken over again.

"Why?"

"I have no food."

Derek sighed, smiling. "You, child, are too much. Now go shower, and we'll go out and eat. How's that work out for you?"

* * *

**Okay, so it's sappy and longer than I was gonna make it and I guess it had a happy ending when I didn't originally intend it to, but the plot bunnies took over.... And I don't own LWD, or Twilight. Cuz that little scene in the middle is very twilight-esque, but only on second look. That's not how I planned it to be. So thanks for reading, and GREEN BUTTON, GREEN BUTTON, GREEN BUTTON! Thanks :D**


	7. Tears

**A/N: So I'm getting way better at updating quickly again. It makes me so happy. Summer's back and I'm finally getting back into my own version of a "groove"... It's been over a month. So R.I.P Bri, because it still hurts like hell every day when you're not here. Sorry guys, I know you don't want to be depressed. But yeahhh... I'm getting through this. Slowly. Verrrry slowly. Brownies for reviewers :D

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Chapter Seven

Tears

Everyone knew Derek Venturi didn't do crying. So she always had to wonder why he loved making her cry.

He loved it, make no mistake. She occasionally caught the smirk on his face when he finally drove her to it. To let go, give in, and let the tears fall.

He didn't know what made him feel so damn powerful when her face crumpled, or why he didn't feel the remorse for her like he did for anyone else.

Maybe the answer was in the fact that Casey MacDonald never gave up control... not voluntarily, anyways. And Derek Venturi wanted that control she had.

The only way to get it was to make her give in. So he watched, secretly smiling at those streaks running down her face.

He loved to make her cry. To make her beg, to make her give up. To give him the control in this fucked-up thing they called a relationship.

She knew it too. She wasn't stupid. She knew everything about him, she even knew where his damn birthmark was. (It wasn't in a place anyone else besides his mother had ever seen.)

She knew what he screamed in his nightmares, she knew that he'd never actually given it to anyone besides her. (Oh, sure, he'd had a lot of make out sessions. But those didn't mean _anything_.)

He knew that her only release from this world was him. He knew what she needed when she'd had a horrible day, and that was sex and hot chocolate. He was the only one whose name she'd ever screamed. He knew how she cried every time after they'd both given in. She hated giving in to him.

She knew there was probably some law that forbade them from doing this. Whether it was the fact that they both had a half-sibling that was the same kid, or that their parents were married, or something... it was probably illegal somehow.

He knew where she liked his hands, the quickest way to make her scream, and how long to hold her after the deed was done.

She knew he loved to make her scream. And beg, cry, and plead.

He loved her, in his own sick twisted way.

She loved him, even as she hated him with every fiber of her being.

They knew each other, inside and out, sexual and practical, what made the other tick. What made the other one _cry._ Because Derek Venturi did cry. He cried when she crashed the Prince. He cried the first time he saw his baby half-brother. He cried the first time Edwin knocked up his current girlfriend (make no mistake, he did it to more than one.) He cried because the one girl he cared about wanted to hurt him as much as he wanted to hurt her. And he cried because his brother was turning into him, only worse. And he didn't know how to help anyone... so he hid his feelings away.

And he took care of Casey, in his own awful way. In his own caustic, superior, fucked-up way.

And she took care of him, in her own caring, angry, loving, hurtful and awe-inspiring way.

And he wished they could look each other in the eye, and admit they cared about each other for more than sex. Because he didn't know how long things could go on the way they were.

* * *

**A/N: I dunno, I guess it's shorter than it originally seemed. But I still felt it was worth putting up, as dark and semi-meaningless as it is. Because for a while, this is the only type of writing I think I'm able to do. I'm just not good with too much happy stuff right now, and I love angst, especially with Dasey. It's so simple, so easy, so awesome :D Love you guys, please review!**


	8. Dance

**A/N: So I was originally going to do this as like a... Tears 2. An alternative to the first. But then, I saw that #8 was Dance. And Dance makes sense, with what I'm trying to do. I'm not quite sure how it'll turn out... it's based more on my life than Casey's, so if it's a little OOC, forgive me. Love y'all!

* * *

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Chappie 8

Dance3

She was never quite perfect. She was never the girl with the 100 average, because she used to get so lawyer-ish she'd piss her teachers off. But she always had the solid 94, at least, because they usually couldn't fault her work.

Her room used to be spotless, as was her locker, the house, her academic record. Everything around her used to be clean and uncluttered.

And she used to love to dance. Not her professional, memorize someone's choreography kinda dance. But she loved to dance around her room to Rob Thomas when no-one was looking, let the music control her, and come from her heart; even if her moves were idiotic and looked crappy. _(atleasttheywerereal.)_

So why was she the girl getting 70's and 80's, her room and brain were both extremely messy, her mom was yelling at her because "her crap was taking over the house", and the only one she wanted to dance with anymore was the boy who knew she loved him, but didn't care enough to be real for her.

Wait, what? Did that sentence even make sense? She couldn't even remember correct sentence structure! Oh, God, he was killing her slowly, wasn't he?

She got to hug him occasionally. Like twice. She's loved him since they were young. Like, 10 and 12. _It'sbeen5goddamnyears_. She loves him. He blows her off. She admits or makes up something shocking to get him to talk to her. _Sheputsoneye-linerforhim._

She asks him to hang with her and her cousin all the time. Her cousin knows him from school, and from being young with them. They were 9, 10, and 12 when this love triangle started. Her cousin loves him like a brother. She loves him with her whole heart. And she thinks her baby cousin (_shestillthinksofherasababycousin._) has a better chance of getting him, at fourteen, then she does right now. Because he only loves the girls who act like they could give a shit about him. And she knows she gives away too much. Tells him about everything, her eating disorder, her smoking, her best friend dying, and how she loves him. (_Eventhoughhedoesn'tfeelthesameway._)

She sees him at the carnival. It's the biggest revenue their town makes all year, and he blew her off because he said he had to work. So when she sees him, she yells at her cousin to chase after him. Because he needs to know that they know that he blew them off. He's hanging with a group of his friends, two or three years older than the two of them. But she still takes the dare her cousin gives her, to yell and hug him on sight. And she does it. But he barely returns it, so it's only for a second. _Onegoddamnlonelysecond. _Her cousin tells her later that he looked guilty as hell. She's happy, because, even for just a second, she made him feel the same. Feel the guilt she feels _everygoddamnday._

Feel the guilt she feels all the time, knowing she let go of her ideals to chase after him, even though he'll _never_ feel the same.

She falls asleep to block out the pain. She sleeps a lot longer lately and her mom thinks she's depressed. She could lie and say she's not, but instead _shesaysnothingatall. _

_And every time she sleeps, she dreams she's dancing with him._ Like that damn Princess Dairies scene, where Mia's with Michael and they go out to the garden and they kiss and she lifts her foot and kicks the light switch? That place. She dreams she's dancing with him in the twinkly garden. She dreams she can lean her head on his shoulder and (_didshementionthey'realmostthesameheight?_) put her arms around his neck. Because that closeness is the only thing she can think of when they dream. All she can remember is the feel of him hugging her, the smell of him, even though it's built off turf and sweat (_heworksatacountryclub_) and for some reason, pizza. Whether it's because of his Italian blood or what. His smell and his closeness are intoxicating, and she smiles during her dream. Smiles, plain out. She laughs in her sleep at his joke.

She loves him with her whole being. Her whole life, soul, and everything. He's the one thing that can make her breathe again. And she can't live very well without him. So even when she tries to give him up, she gives in and comes back, sends him a sweet text message and plans to meet up with him sometime_. Shejustfrickingloveshim. _And she wants nothing more than to dance with him, to mean something to him, to have him _smile _at her_. _She wants him to love her, and ask her to dance.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, I guess you can imagine it's Derek. In my head, it's definitely my real guy that I've loved for years, so this is all kinda based on my life. But Derek's a good sub, since technically it's a Dasey story. They're all basically Dasey stories. Lol. I've been dealing with a lot lately, this is just blowing off steam and putting it in one-shot form. It's all gonna get better, right? Right. Please review.  
**


	9. Shopping

**A/N: Numero nueve. Shopping. Okay. I can do this. I have issues with one-shots, so this all kinda works together in its own way lol. I'll figure it out.**

Chappie 9!

Shopping ^_^

You know that song, "She Only Smokes When She Drinks?"

Well, Casey doesn't smoke, and Casey doesn't drink. But her song would definitely be, "She Only Shops When She Hates."

As in, she hates the boy who broke her heart that day, week, month, or year.

Fine, maybe its a little bit of a compulsive habit. Since she got dumped by the one, the only Derek Venturi, because – wait a minute. She'd broken up with him. She broke up with him. She didn't get dumped. She left him. Why was that so damn hard to remember?

* * *

Maybe because it had felt like he was gone before anything was officially over.

They were gonna go to the same college. They were ecstatic. Everyone was amazed Derek made it into Queens. And he was really gonna take the opportunity. He was.

But then the Maple Leafs called. Scouting opps and all that jazz. And all of a sudden Derek's greatest dream was coming true. And Casey loved him through all of it. She smiled and she was happy for him. Smiling. Always smiling.

Until she'd get into her bedroom at night. And then the tears would come out.

She was a good girlfriend. She was.

But she knew in the back of her heart, that this was the end. Derek's life was hockey. Not college.

So she knew it was goodbye.

And she left him. She left everyone behind. She moved to Boston. Become a court stenographer. And modeled a little bit. Just to make sure the bills were paid.

And so what if her family saw her every once in a while in a magazine, and so what if she's killed their happy family unit, by not taking their phone calls or emails.

So, the real reason she models is so she can shop.

* * *

Because shopping takes the pain away. Takes away the pain of the knowledge. The knowledge that she killed her family, killed the only boy who ever put up with all her shit for more than a couple months.

Because as much as he picked on her, and as much shit as they pulled on each other, don't think anyone ever had someone's back more securely than she had his and he had hers.

* * *

It's been three years. Shouldn't she be over him? Shouldn't he have stopped calling?

She finally got sick of ignoring him one day. So she answered her cell phone.

"Casey?" His quick intake of breath showed her exactly how surprised he was that she'd answered.

"Hey, Der..." She wouldn't allow herself to say anything else.

"You know how mad I could be at you right now, right? You've been avoiding everyone for three years, Case. That's...." He paused to do the addition. "1,095 days. I think. I dunno, you were always the smart one in math. But it's a hell of a long time to leave us all like this. The only time we ever see your face is in magazines, Case." She hears his voice break a little. But she's not giving in. Not yet. And who the hell is he to talk about seeing her face in magazines? Because that's the only place she sees his face, too. "Come home, Case. P-please come home." She knows his voice is breaking now. He's not hiding it, why should she?

"Derek.... I didn't plan it this way. I didn't. I promise. I miss you. I miss everyone."

"Why the hell - why did you leave us then?"

She's crying, and she can't really deny it. Her voice is getting too shaky to deny it. "You were going to choose hockey over me, and I didn't want to be there to make the decision tougher for you. You deserve all the fame you've gotten. You had the chance, and I wanted you to take it and not have to worry about the aftermath of leaving me to be the lonely little Casey at Queens."

"Casey...." He can't say anything. He's that nonplussed at how goddamn unselfish she is, and how selfish it feels at the same. She hears him take a deep breath on the other side of the line. "Casey. Baby," Her heart hurts just hearing that. "I never would have chosen hockey over you. Never. Case, I can barely play without you here with me. I stare at your picture every night before I go on the ice, wondering where the hell you are and how you're doing, why you did this. And I- Case, I love you. I need you to come back." She's crying silently into her end now. Unable to speak. "Casey? Are you okay?" He hates that he's given in and cried, and he hates how meaningless those three little words can sound. Of course she's not okay. She's crying, isn't she?

"No," she gurgles. At least she hopes it sounds like no. It sounds pretty damn gibberish sounding in general. She tries to clear her voice. "No. Derek, I wanna come home."

"Casey, give me your address." She complies, then waits. Sits there, considering packing, but can't bring herself to do it.

* * *

He pulls up. Red two seater. "What, no hockey game tonight?"

"Nahhh. Special privileges. I'm listed as personal issues for a couple practices." She smiles, he smiles, she's unable to keep herself from throwing herself into his arms, he's unable to prevent himself from kissing her madly and loving her with everything he hasn't given her in three years... and..... now is not the time. The anticipation will only heighten the payoff.

He waits until his voice is steady. "Now, let's pack."

* * *

They pack up her entire apartment in two hours. That has to be a record somehow.

"Ready to go home?" He turns and looks into her eyes, and she loves every second of it, so much so that she can't bring herself to share him yet. Even the four hour car drive isn't enough. They have to do something privately first. It's just... a rule. In Casey's book, anyways.

"Not yet," she shakes her head playfully. "First, we have to go shopping."

"Casey, I am not waiting outside a dressing room for you. Not when I've waited-"

"Derek, _we_ are going to try on dresses in the dressing room." His eyes widen slightly. She's never seen him get into his car any faster.

* * *

"You are definitely insane. You know that?" He shakes his head. Four stores in one day, and yet, he's never had this much fun in his life. She was right when she said trying on dresses could be fun.

Especially when he helped her put them on and take them off. Seriously, Derek had never had so much fun.

And he now knows why shopping is her favorite pastime. He just wished he'd learned about this earlier. They could've been doing this kinda shit all through high school.

* * *

"Does this one look good?"

"Who cares?" He grabs her by the waist, just for the hell of it, and to hear that sound she makes when he hugs her. He loves that sound.

"Derek, I'm serious! If I'm gonna go home after three years, I wanna go home in style, and I wanna show my mom I haven't gotten all stuck up."

"Casey, it's a fricking hot pink sun dress. It's summer. It's not too casual, and not too dressy. Is that what you're looking to hear?"

"Yes, it was, thank you." He had to laugh at her expression. And hearing his laugh just made her collapse into his arms. And that started the cycle off all over again, and the hot pink sun dress was forgotten about for a couple of minutes. Because catching up was the new order of action, and not getting caught for public indecency the second. The dresses weren't the important part. Not at all.

* * *

**A/N: I am so sorry for how choppy this is, and I love my angsty part in the beginning, but I love the happy ending even more. I love happy endings. GREEN BUTTON!! :]**


	10. Ice Cream

**A/N: Ice cream? Way to make it hard on me. I don't eat ice cream very often, and my mind is going in like 7 different directions for this oneshot, so.... let's get on with it, shall we? My brain is kinda fried, but I do actually kinda have one idea going now..  
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Chapter Ten

** El fin :[**

"Casey! What flavor do you want?" He never responded with a hello, just what the main need was. This was the main reason she didn't like answering her cell phone when he called, except that occasionally he really did need her help, and so....

"Uhm, for what?" He could feel her brow wrinkling in confusion.

"Ice cream, moron." She could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Where are you?"

"At the store, buying Ben and Jerry's pints. What flavor do you want?"

Now that she'd gotten enough information to know, she chose "Everything but the..." which she knew had chocolate and heath bar pieces and boy, was it delicious when she was watching Criminal Minds on DVD.

"Whatever. DMB's Magic Brownies is still way better, no matter what you want to think."

"Are we seriously getting into an argument about ICE CREAM?"

"Casey, we get into arguments about everything. If we didn't, we'd have to find some other way to let go of this sexual tension and we both know we don't want to do it in the right way."

Casey rolled her eyes once again before conceding the point.

"Holy," and then he said a word Casey McDonald didn't say or repeat, "did we really just agree on something? Anything?"

"Yes, oh lord of lies, we agreed on the fact that if I just took pity on you and let you make out with me, we'd be less likely to argue."

"Well, it's not like it's not true."

"Are you standing in the middle of the grocery store talking about sexual tension?"

"Perhaps. Come on, Case, you always love a guy who's dangerous. And this isn't half as dangerous as other-"

"Stuff!" Casey quickly dubbed for him.

"Whatever. The other _stuff_ we've done," he sneered.

"Whatever yourself. If I told you I wanted to live dangerously, you'd be home faster than I could say love me."

"Whoa! We've both agreed this is not love. This is just.... a solution to two horny teenagers having to live together."

"Well, saying make love is a lot nicer than saying-"

"Fuck me? Casey, say it, just once."

Nuh-uh. Not in this lifetime, not this Casey McDonald.

* * *

But he did always have a way of getting to her. And so, once he'd gotten back, and the ice cream was put away, (rather quickly, Casey thought) and then somehow, without recollection of how, they were out in the backyard, behind the tree line, and he refused to kiss her one more time until she admitted she was just as sexually frustrated as he was. She tried to kiss him instead, but he held her off.

"Fine, dammit! Fuck me, will you?" Her breath stopped and her heart beat faster as she realized he'd finally gotten her to admit it. The girl who never used bad language, the girl who never, _ever_ straddled her step-brothers hips out behind the bushes... well, hell, good girl gone bad, much?

Derek smirked, and that smirk said it all. And she knew she was beaten. She felt her stomach roll as she realized she'd lost. She wanted a boy to make love with her without a commitment or love.

"This isn't love, is it?"

"Not by a long shot." Although he's really not sure anymore, with her blue-brownish eyes (how the hell do blue eyes have brown flecks?) staring at him, but anyways, he's Derek Venturi. And he doesn't admit that he's in love. He doesn't have a heart with which to fall in love. And he can't believe she's gotten him to use correct grammar even in his mind. "Casey?"

"Hmm?" She can answer him without stopping the kissing.

"I changed my mind."

She looks at him, fear in her eyes. "Uhm... about what, exactly?" She was pretty damn close to saying screw the world, and letting him take her. She really hoped he hadn't changed his mind about what they were doing right now.

"I think this is love."

"Wait- what the-" She shakes her head in confusion, trying to clear her mind. "You... just said you love me? That we are in love? That I'm not giving it up for nothing, and that... this is love?"

He nods.

"Well then, what the hell are we waiting for?" She swoops down on his neck, leaving a love bite that he _knows_ will be a noticeable hickey by morning. Stupid Casey.... making him wear a collared shirt in the summer.

After wearing all those hot shirts for a week, he's very glad he bought ice cream.

* * *

**A/N: I loved how I got to tie it in again at the end. I love this scene, because I didn't even get too graphic! Pshaw [: So this is the end, my loves. Please read my other stuff, perhaps I'll start DomiRae's challenge as well :]**


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